The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.
The ANSI/IEEE Standard 1471-2000 “Recommended Practice for Architectural Description” states: Conceptually, an IT architecture is the fundamental organization of a system, embodied in its components, their relationships to each other and the environment, and the principles governing its design and evolution. Practically, it is represented in architectural descriptions from the viewpoints of the stakeholders. IT architecture often separates business support systems (BSS) and operational support systems (OSS) from enterprise resource planning (ERP) and customer relationship management (CRM).